G20 Preview: Obama To Propose Phasing Out Of Fossil Fuel Subsidies; HIV/AIDS Protesters Take To Streets In Pittsburgh

Sep 23, 2009

During the G20 summit opening Thursday in Pittsburgh, President Obama will propose countries around the world phase out government subsidies that promote the production and use of fossil fuels “that spew carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas,” the Associated Press reports (Borenstein, 9/23).

“The plan is part of efforts to combat climate change, enhance energy security, improve public health and the environment, promote faster economic growth and support more effective targeting of government resources for the poor, [White House] officials said,” the AP reports in a second story. “Key G20 nations China, India, Russia and Brazil reportedly are among the top spenders of fossil fuel subsidies and are unlikely to easily agree to any plans to slash them,” the news service adds (9/23).

In related news, AP/CBS3 reports on a group of more than 100 HIV/AIDS advocates who took to the streets Tuesday in Pittsburgh in preparation for the G20 summit “demanding the world’s most powerful leaders stop using the global economic crisis as an excuse to cut promised funding for drugs and treatment.” According to the news service, the protestors called upon “President Obama to make good on a campaign pledge to commit $50 billion over five years to AIDS efforts,” and said that the “Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria faces a $5 billion U.S. shortfall, and Obama’s 2010 budget doesn’t increase allocations” (Smith, 9/22).